Digital Commons Network^™

Mental Hell, Jesenia De Moya, Hanaa' Tameez, Maritza Villela

Capstones

Mental Hell explores how difficult it is for low-income Latinos in New York City to access mental health care. Through explanations from experts and the personal stories of three Latinas New Yorkers who have gone through the process of trying to get the care they need, the story guides the reader through the many roadblocks this demographic encounters specifically under the insurance of Medicaid.

This is an extremely important topic that affects many New Yorkers, and we believe something needs to be done to make this type of healthcare more accessible for Latinos. New York City has a very high …

The Unspoken Truth, Cherese Butler

Capstones

This documentary aspires to inform the public about the discrimination dark-skinned black women face within the entertainment and beauty industry. The census has predicted the United States of America will get more brown, but dark-skinned black women still feel underrepresented in the media. I decided to show my journey to confidence in the documentary in addition, to the process of figuring out how dark-skinned women can gain more exposure in these industries. Over the course of 10 months, I interviewed dark-skinned women in the beauty and entertainment industry, as well as women in other professions to find out how years …

Detrás De La Industria De Heroína Del Bronx, La Sede Central Del Tráfico En El Noreste, Monica Cordero, Constanza Gallardo, Maria Camila Montañez, Joaquín Torres

Capstones

El proyecto muestra cómo la heroína llega de México al Bronx a través de los casos judiciales de los personajes que componen la cadena de distribución de la droga.

https://monicacorderosancho.github.io

Palm Papers, Nicole Rothwell

Capstones

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) came into possession of a secret dataset of property owners of the Palm Islands, the elite high-end artificial islands on the coast of Dubai.

With over 250 neighborhoods on Dubai’s waterfront, a group of journalists around the world has been investigating who these individuals are that can afford the posh and pricey real estate. While most fall into the uber-rich category, some also have corrupt to criminal backgrounds leading to questions such as if the Palm Islands are truly a real-estate paradise, or instead a refuge for the corrupt.

The task for …

Learning From Zũni War Gods Repatriating Alternative Dispute Resolution For Practice And Research, Alexandra Crampton

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

This article applies lessons learned from the Zũni people of the southwestern United States about successful and sustainable intervention as a metaphor to address common tensions among alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scholars and practitioners. These tensions are found in professionalisation, institutionalisation and identification of best practices. Through example of Zũni efforts to repatriate sacred artefacts known as Ahuy: da, I argue that ADR is an intervention that works best through direct and ongoing dialogue rather than rigid adherence to a set of standards. The problem lies in how such adherence can limit and distort rather than inform or support best …

Examining The Role Of Arts Education Partnerships In Sustaining Arts Programs In California Elementary Schools, Marie-Helene Bauguil

Dissertations

This study investigated three arts education partnerships in California elementary schools. The research questions that guided the inquiry were exploratory in nature and intended to reveal the day-to-day functioning of these partnerships, the challenges they faced, and the factors that contributed to their success, through the recounted experiences of the various institutional actors involved. The participants (n=21) comprised school principals and teachers, arts organizations administrative staff, and teaching artists. Qualitative inquiry methods (in-person interviews, classroom observations, and review of relevant documents) were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that the schools’ administrators and faculty appreciated the arts residencies, …

Nonprofit Hiring And Retention Practices And The Representation Of Women Of Color In Museum Leadership, Breanne Batara

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

This museum studies capstone project centers on the nonprofit hiring and retention practices with an emphasis on the lack of representation of women of color in museum leadership. The literature review encompasses peer-reviewed literature on nonprofit leadership and management and peer-reviewed literature from the museum field as well as secondary sources that encapsulate anecdotal sentiments on this issue. I propose a comprehensive recruiting program that would take place in museums in Oakland, California as one step to attracting people of color, and specifically women, to the museum field.

Keywords: Diversity, Gender, Hiring, Human Resource Management, HRM, Inclusion, Minority, Museum …

Jackie Kay, Trumpet (1998), Marie Hologa

Studies in Scottish Literature

Argues that Kay's acclaimed novel about a celebrated black jazz trumpeter, who is transgender, presents "an alternative construction of masculinity to the stereotypical Scottish 'hard man' of tartan noir, " dealing with "questions of identity that go beyond Scottishness," and unmasking "the emptiness of normative categories like gender, sexuality, ‘race’ and ethnic origins in a postmodern ... society."

Effects Of Crude Oil On Tumor Suppressor P53 Polymorphisms In Laboratory-Exposed Atlantic Killifish, Fundulus Heteroclitus, Allison Margaret Nadler

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), constituents of crude oil, are implicated as a potent source of adverse toxicological effects on living organisms. To model the effects of PAHs in response to environmental oil spill disasters a species of killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) was captured and exposed to crude oil in a laboratory-controlled setting. Over a period of 7 days, fish were dosed with crude oil by gavage, culled, and organs were harvested for analysis. Excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMS) of gall bladder tissue homogenates was used to verify exposure. Effects of PAHs on the p53 gene were evaluated as an indicator …

Tropes Trump Politics, Aaron Berkowitz

Capstones

This critical essay examines the use of tropes and themes in modern comic books and how they are used to protest President Donald Trump’s policies, actions and supporters. It begins with a detailed history of tropes used in comic books and how some of the first superhero comic book writers created these tropes in order to protest the social injustices of their times. It shifts to the first trope, the “compromised hero” where a hero is turned evil. It is used in “Secret Empire,” a book where Captain America turns evil and takes over the presidency. His rise to power …

The New Threat To Journalists: Robots, Annie Nova

Capstones

NEWSPAPERS, television studios and news websites across the world have swapped out human reporters for robots. In just a few weeks, I’ll be in a cap and gown at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism. I have dedicated the last 18 months of my life to learning how to report and write. Here is where people are transformed into the so-called East Coast elite members of the media. No small amount of money, energy and time went to this effort. Had I learned to do anything a robot couldn’t?

https://medium.com/@annie.nova/the-new-threat-to-journalists-robots-f0f8865e09af

Is The Free Tibet Movement A Lost Cause?, Tsering D. Gurung

Capstones

China's growing economic influence, internecine rivalries, and over-reliance on the West have hurt the decades-old Tibetan independence movement.

tseringgurung.atavist.com/freetibetmovement

The Other Side Of The Gate, Tabia Robinson

Capstones

Rikers Island and the New York City Department of Correction has been in the news lately because of assault and deaths linked to the establishment. Officers feel left out because their stories are never told. The Other Side of the Gate tells the stories of those officers.

https://othersideofthegate.wordpress.com/

Inside The Grassroots Money Machine, Elizabeth Tung

Capstones

In the year since Donald Trump’s election, grassroots canvassing groups have generated millions of dollars for nonprofits like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. These groups’ growing profile correlates with a post-election spike in liberal giving, and the rise of face-to-face fundraising in the US. But despite their progressive affiliations, several groups have come under fire for abusive labor practices and a lack of financial transparency. This piece looks at two of the biggest players in the canvassing industry, the Fund for the Public Interest and Grassroots Campaigns. Both groups are headed by the same person - a man named Doug …

Preparation And Characterization Of A (Viologen) Containing Main Chain Peg-Carbon Nanotubes Phase For Hybrid Supercapacitor Application, Kanishka Rana

Master's Theses

Supercapacitors (SCs) and batteries are recognized as the two most important electrical energy storage devices. SCs have some distinct advantages such as high-power density and long cycle life when compared to batteries. However, they have yet to match the energy densities of batteries. In an effort to improve the energy density of SCs, a hybrid supercapacitor was developed using a pair of single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes and two polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) gel-polymer electrolytes (GPEs) containing redox additives of viologen (V) and ferrocene dicarboxylic acid (Fc), respectively. The introduction of V and Fc, was expected to improve the energy performance of …

Characterizing Anisotropy In Fibrous Soft Materials By Mr Elastography Of Slow And Fast Shear Waves, John Larson Schmidt

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The general objective of this work was to develop experimental methods based on magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) to characterize fibrous soft materials. Mathematical models of tissue biomechanics capable of predicting injury, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), are of great interest and potential. However, the accuracy of predictions from such models depends on accuracy of the underlying material parameters. This dissertation describes work toward three aims. First, experimental methods were designed to characterize fibrous materials based on a transversely isotropic material model. Second, these methods are applied to characterize the anisotropic properties of white matter brain tissue ex vivo. Third, …

Small Arms: An Applied Approach To Children In Armed Conflict Prevention Initiatives In Africa, Tristan Burger

Master's Theses

For centuries, children have been used in times of war—serving as porters, cooks, spies, sex slaves, and soldiers. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is still pervasive today with an estimated 300,000 children involved in armed conflict as of 2015. This applied project examines a possible method for preventing the illegal practice of using children in combat by employing a new technology centered on community-based early warning theories. I seek to understand if implementing a text-based, mobile crowdsourcing platform in remote communities in Sub-Saharan Africa will be successful in predicting Lord’s Resistance Army raids, thereby reducing the number of children abducted and/or forcibly …

Urbanization, Land Rights And Development: A Case Study Of Waterfront Communities In Lagos, Nigeria., Gideon Olaniyi Omoniyi

Master's Theses

The aim of this study is to examine the root causes of forced evictions and displacement through the current urbanization process in Lagos, Nigeria. My particular attention is devoted to the legal complexities and how ethnolinguistic identities shape land laws, influence land tenure, and construct urban citizenship. Through this process, competing claims to land ownership provide fertile ground for forced evictions and displacement. Existing scholars suggest that poor urban residents lack rights to stay in their neighborhoods, while a powerful capitalist class has emerged and dispossessed the poor from their lands. Yet these existing approaches derived from the neoclassical and …

Gendered Impacts Of Community-Based Conservation Initiatives In Kimana/Tikondo Group Ranch Outside Of Amboseli National Park, Megan Clemens

Master's Theses

Community-based conservation has become a common solution to addressing local communities needs and concerns when it comes to conservation initiatives associated with, or outside the boundaries of national parks. Community-based initiatives associated with Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya mark one of the first attempts to include local communities in conservation initiatives and management as well as establish systems of benefit sharing between conservation and local communities. However, a critique of community-based conservation initiatives points out they often assume community homogeneity. Assumption of community homogeneity leads to inequities in benefits sharing, exclusion of subgroups (women, ethnic minorities) or even exacerbate …

Exploring Employment Equity: Diversity & Inclusion In Canada’S Legislation & Policy, Vanessa Toussaint Miller

Master's Theses

Multiculturalism is considered very much a part of Canada’s national heritage and identity, becoming the first nation to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy in 1971. Over the last 40 years, the Canadian population has undergone significant changes bringing in immigrants with different cultures, ideologies, religions and ways of life. Despite the various changes in society, the multiculturalism policies have remained the same. This thesis examines Canada’s Employment Equity-a policy intended to eliminate systemic discrimination in the workplace-and its effectivity at creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. The main research question is, in the past five years, has Employment Equity …

Falling Up: Building Language Use And Cultural Awareness Through The Implementation Of Humor In The Esl Classroom, Glen Kovar

Master's Theses

This study examined the importance of explicitly teaching humor to upper-intermediate and advanced adult English language learners (ELLs), and filled in the gap that exists in studies and literature by examining the use, and implementation of humor in English as a second language/foreign language (ESL/EFL) curricula. Humor is an important human behavior, playing a crucial role in communication, social interactions, and comprehension of a second language (L2) culture. High-level ELLs often lack the linguistic and cultural awareness necessary to effectively communicate. Language courses often accentuate test-taking and language strategies, and courses that explicitly engage with and teach humor to students …

How Patriotic Are Albanians? The Comparative Study Of Patriotic Attitudes In Albania And The Albanian Diaspora, Anxhela Spahiu

Master's Theses

In today’s post-modern digital world, patriotism may not be as prevalent as in the past. In this thesis, my principal aim is to investigate to what extent Albanians, a nationality to which I belong, identify with a patriotic attitude toward Albania. I chose to focus not only on Albanians who live in the diaspora, like myself, but also on Albanians who live in Albania. I believe that to understand national pride to its fullest, you must study the attitudes of those who live in the country of origin as well as of those who live in the diaspora. Many people …

Dadaab’S Hidden Ties: How Colonial Legacies And Informal Economies Contribute To Protracted Refugee Situations, Katherine Landberg

Master's Theses

Protracted Refugee Situations (PRS) persist despite the founding intentions of the international refugee regime. Explanations behind PRS typically focus on international law, human rights, and security concerns, while the conventional media narrative presents an oversimplification that erases complex contextual nuances. Using the case of the Dadaab refugee camp, I explore (1) historical colonial legacies of social control and domination in Kenya, and (2) Dadaab as an informal economic power center, as two ‘hidden ties’ that contribute to Dadaab’s persistence. By identifying and exploring hidden ties that contribute to PRS, policy-makers and power brokers gain a deeper understanding of the realities …

Undocumented Students’ Access To Higher Education In San Francisco, Bay Area, Sandra Miklosic

Master's Theses

This paper will explore the question: “in what ways does DACA status influence undocumented students’ ability to access higher education in San Francisco and Bay Area, California?” Even though DACA does not encompass any direct policies regarding access to education, there is a very strong correlation between having DACA status and accessing higher education for the undocumented students. In this research, I highlight the voices of undocumented students through the method of testimonio. Each participant reflects on their personal experiences with DACA while accessing postsecondary education. In this research, I explore how testimonio, as a methodology and a theoretical framework, …

Articulated Indigeneity And Tourism In HawaiʻI, Erika Nielsen

Master's Theses

The guiding research question for this thesis asks how Hawaiian indigeneity and self-determination are articulated within tourism spaces in Hawaiʻi. This thesis research works to uncover the nuanced ways that Hawaiian indigeneity is employed to manage and regulate tourism activities in Hawaiʻi. I seek to question the narrative that Hawaiians consent to, and prosper from, the largely unregulated mass tourism complex that has become a focal point of the post-colonial state. Native Hawaiians have actively resisted the erosion of their culture, lands, and nation through strategies that employ multiple understandings of indigeneity. We should not assume that the tourism industry …

Higher Education As A Development Tool: An Impact Assessment In Dzaleka Malawi, Emily Golike

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of accredited online diploma programs within refugee camps. When individuals are confined to camps and unable to work and travel in search of economic opportunity, does completing an accredited diploma program improve their quality of life and contribute to their human capital? Can higher education in refugee camps produce sustainable social service projects that benefit residents? There is a demonstrated value in a liberal arts education, but which aspects of this learning schema are most beneficial in the refugee camp context have yet to be explored.

The study conducted in …

In Vitro Toxic Effects Of Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheets On Lung Cancer Cells, Ta Tabish, Mzi Pranjol, H Hayat, Aam Rahat, Et Al

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The intriguing properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have paved the way for a number of potential biomedical applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, gene delivery and bio-sensing. Over the last decade, there have been escalating concerns regarding the possible toxic effects, behaviour and fate of rGO in living systems and environments. This paper reports on integrative chemical-biological interactions of rGO with lung cancer cells, i.e. A549 and SKMES-1, to determine its potential toxicological impacts on them, as a function of its concentration. Cell viability, early and late apoptosis and necrosis were measured to determine oxidative stress potential, and …

The Relationship Between Student Participation In A 1:1 Laptop Initiative And Academic Achievement In A 9-12 Upper Middle Class Suburban New Jersey Public School District, Brian P. Gatens

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The use of laptop computers in 1:1 settings is becoming increasingly prevalent in America’s schools. As greater numbers of students are using this technology, establishing its benefits and costs is paramount, especially in light of so many demanding fiscal situations. This study used quantitative research and analysis to measure the benefits and costs of such an expansive distribution of technology. It seeks to answer the question of the worth of such a large-scale adoption.

This study explored the relationship between the use of a laptop computer on a 1:1 basis for the purpose of academic instruction and its connection …

Locality-Aware Concurrency Platforms, Jordyn Chrystopher Raymond Maglalang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Modern computing systems from all domains are becoming increasingly more parallel. Manufacturers are taking advantage of the increasing number of available transistors by packaging more and more computing resources together on a single chip or within a single system. These platforms generally contain many levels of private and shared caches in addition to physically distributed main memory. Therefore, some memory is more expensive to access than other and high-performance software must consider memory locality as one of the first level considerations.

Memory locality is often difficult for application developers to consider directly, however, since many of these NUMA affects are …

Coupling Of Oxidation-Reduction Reactions Of Chromium, Iron And Manganese: Implications For The Fate And Mobility Of Chromium In Aquatic Environments, Chao Pan

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Both within the United States and internationally, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a contaminant of concern in drinking water supplies. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering a Cr(VI)-specific standard. Thus improved technologies for Cr(VI) removal in drinking water are needed. Iron electrocoagulation for Cr(VI) removal was examined at conditions directly relevant to drinking water treatment, and humic acid (HA) affects the performance of electrocoagulation in multiple ways. The success of the chromium treatment or remediation also relies on the stability of the Cr(III)-containing solids with respect to reoxidation under groundwater conditions. Manganese is ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial environments, and …